Google will comply with the demands of EU antitrust regulators by making Android more expensive. Now we know how much more expensive.
As you may recall, Google announced last week that it would comply with a recent EU ruling by raising the Android licensing fees it charges to hardware makers and wireless carriers, but only in Europe. This response, I noted, was brilliant, as it gets to case the European Commission as the bad guys while it continues its illegal bundling practices.
But the question, of course, concerns how much Google will charge its partners to do business in Europe. After all, in the cut-throat, low-margin world of hardware devices, even a few cents can make a big difference.
Well, citing “confidential fee schedule documents,” The Verge says it has the answer: Google will charge its partners $2.50 to $40 more per device, depending on its features, and depending on the country, to use Android in Europe.
Yikes.
Countries like the UK, Sweden, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands will see the highest fees, and devices with higher-end capabilities will likewise require higher fees. According to the publication, Handsets with a pixel density higher than 500 PPI would have to pay a $40 fee to license Google’s apps. 400 to 500 PPI devices would pay a $20 fee, and devices under 400 PPI would pay $10. In some countries, for lower-end phones, the fee can be as little as $2.50 per device, The Verge claims. And tablets are on a different pricing schedule.
